One of the stories regarding the origin of Mahjong (mah jong, mahjongg, mah jongg) claims that Confucius the great Chinese philosopher had developed the game about 500 BC. The game of mahjong was found to have come into existence during the same period as Confucious traveled around teaching. The three "Cardinal" tiles in the game of mahjong also coincide with the three Cardinal virtues taught by Confucius. Chung (middle) the Red, Fa (prosperity) the Green, Po (white) the white, Benevolence, Sincerity, and Filial Piety. Confucius was known to like birds, and that would explain why mahjong is named mahjong. The name mahjong literally means hemp bird, or linen bird, in Chinese. If you choose one of the leather mah jong sets, please let us know is the comments section whether you would prefer bamboo or plastic tiles.